Synopsis: Xander

Jalis Xander, daughter of the king and a commoner, has been kept squirreled away in a quiet town, an embarrassment to the court, since she was eight years old. But instead of languishing away into a wishy Cinderella, this tough-knocking, peremptory princess takes life by a storm. Whether it's racing horses, climbing the Tarwyth Cliffs, or giving the neighborhood bully a lesson in manners, Jalis can do it herself; and she's certainly not afraid. Not of anybody, not of anything.
So when she tires of the parochial town life, it's only a matter of what to pack , and Jalis sets out to take on the royal court and beat--ahem--meet her noble sisters. But the rules and etiquette of the court, both written and unwritten, are drastically different from those in the common streets. Jalis finds herself lost in the webs of titles, ambassadors, and political not-so-niceties as well as overwhelmed by the strict order around the throne. The superficiality of the court, the snobbery displayed by the rich and titled, and the refusal of acceptance by her half-sister disgust her.
But when Jalis stumbles over a convoluted plot to take over the crown and jumps in against it half-cocked, she sets off an explosion of events that could lead to the war and destruction of the country, the crown, and her own sister. Trapped, Jalis is forced to choose between her own desires to believe herself invincible and to save her sister the crown . . . and admit for the first time in her life, she might just need some help.